Lake County: Bone marrow drive to help Painesville woman

PAINESVILLE -- More than 5,500 bone marrow transplants are done each year to save the lives of people with blood cancers.

There are now more than 10 million donors in the Be The Match Registry, the largest and most racially and ethnically diverse pool of people in the world.

Though bone marrow matches are more likely found between family members, 70 percent of people in need of a transplant require a match from an outside source, according to the National Marrow Donor Program.

Cheryl Schilling, 55, of Painesville, is in need of a bone marrow transplant to prevent relapsing from acute lymphoblastic leukemia after being diagnosed in September 2012.

Schilling has a chromosome that makes it difficult to find a bone marrow match from inside her family.

A bone marrow drive through the Be The Match foundationwill be held at Painesville First Church of Christ on Jan. 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Schilling.

People in generally good health ages 18 to 44 can have their bone marrow tested for a match at the fundraiser by getting their cheek swabbed with a Q-Tip and then entered in the Be The Match Registry to help find a match for Schilling or others in need of a transplant.